Yonkō Reunion on the Fields of Elysian
The Reunion Hikaru chugged another jug of sake. He had an excess from his winery that needed to be gotten rid of. Since no one would buy the stuff, he and Mizu decided to have a drinking contest. "That's 34!" "Pansy." Mizu spat and uncorked another bottle of wine and began to drink it thirstily. "I'm on my 36th." Hikaru smirked, "Not for long." He took two bottles of wine and drank both of them at the same time. "You two drunkards are going to keel over one of these days," said a seemingly distressed Rukia. "All that alcohol will destroy your livers." "Rukia, you should know by now that me and Hikaru are big livers!" exclaimed Mizu in a drunken frenzy. "We die when we want to. And this're 'spired booze ain't gonna kill neither of us." Mizu hiccuped, then fell over. "Yay!" Hikaru held his hands up. "I win!" He fell over and belched loudly. Rukia pinched her nose. "It's a good thing I love you both." Meanwhile, in the outside world, Raian Getsueikirite, esteemed captain of the Eighth Division, flashed on top of the nearest skyscraper and gazed down on humanity. He looked around for Seireitou, but found him nowhere, likely to be late as usual. Taking a deep breath, he sat down on the edge of the skyscraper, contemplating the day ahead of him. "This should be... an interesting twist of events.." he muttered to himself, awaiting his friends' arrivals. Overwhelmed with laziness, just as ever, Seireitou Kawahiru found himself on the way to meet with his friend Raian, Saori Sumeragi following close behind. It had been quite some time since he saw Raian, ever since all of the paperwork Raian had to deal with as Eighth Division Captain. Some might say it's because the previous Captain *cough-cough*Seireitou*cough-cough* was a lazy-ass who never finished paperwork. Before long, Seireitou and Saori found themselves face to face with Raian. "Hey Raian, you had called for us?" Hikaru and Mizu were still plastered within an inch of their lives when Mizu jolted and said, "HIKARU! We need to meet with Raian and Sei!" Hikaru sprang to his feet, and headed to the bedroom where Rukia was. "Hikaru what are you?" "Can't talk! Yonkou meeting!" Hikaru changed clothes within the span of 0.2 seconds. "Slower than usual," mused Mizu. "And he didn't bother to fix Yonkō..." Mizu finished putting on his battle gear, and headed out the door. Hikaru was already ahead of him. Raian was in the process of responding to Seireitou when the noise of Hikaru and Mizu bolting down the street caught his attention, causing him to snap his head in their direction; a comically annoyed look plastered in his usual stoic face. He then looked between Seireitou and the running Hikaru and shook his head. "Am I the only one in this group that isn't a stoned drunk?" he questioned, almost as if to himself. "WE DON'T DO POT!" yelled Mizu. "WE ONLY DRINK ABOUT 50 BOTTLES OF ALCOHOL A DAY!" "YOU IDIOT!" comically roared Hikaru. "WE COULD GET ARRESTED FOR YOU SAYING THAT!" "THEY DON'T CARE! THEY CAN'T HEAR US ANYWAY! WE'RE GOING TOO FAST FOR ANY NORMAL HUMAN TO HEAR US!" "IF YOU YELLED ANY MORE, THEY ACTUALLY MIGHT CATCH ON!" "WE'VE DONE OK SO FAR!" "I KNOW!" The idiot Kurosaki brothers screeched to a halt in front of the others. "I win," stated Hikaru. "No, I WON!" bellowed Mizu. "I DID!" yelled back Hikaru. "NO! I DID!" The two began to beat each other up. Seireitou's shoulders drooped down a bit, his face expressing narrowed eyes but with a sarcastic smirk. "Oh those two..." with Saori shaking her head. He picked up a rock and looked at Raian. "Twenty points I hit Mizu. Thirty for Hikaru. Fifty, I knock 'em both out." he claimed, throwing the rock at the quarreling brothers. The comical mood of the situation was getting to Raian. A sly smile crossed his face; one that had not shown since the days of their youth. "Get them both and I'll by your sake for a month." Raian chirped. Hikaru and Mizu sensed the rock coming near, and slashed it into sand. The remnants landed saying, 'You both lose.' "It'll take more than that to hit us," stated Hikaru. "And a lot more to beat us," ended Mizu. Seireitou bore a soft grin, crossing his arms. "Even when acting like idiots, you both are on your guard." He took a step off of the air where he stood, landing to the concrete road where Hikaru and Mizu were standing. He turned his head. "Raian, you coming?" Raian closed his eyes and smiled softly. Seeing his friends together was the biggest relief since before the conflicts with Akujin. Grabbing the sword on his waist, he raked it out of its sheathe, creating a tremendous burst of spiritual pressure followed by a release of flames that engulfed the surroundings. This was it's debut. Kōsaken Jakka. "Let's go, Sei." he replied quietly, launching himself into the city below. "Hikaru." "What?" "Can I fight this time? I want to see how I match up against them." "Sure." It Begins... Seireitou stood with his arms crossed, his white haori fluttering in the wind as he stood facing forward, where Mizu had descended. Raian, right before, had descended near the two. The silver-haired man peered over to look at Hikaru, but then looked toward Mizu. "So, how will this work out, Mizu? Raian? Who'll fight first?" Saori stood at the top of a large tree branch, her arms held at her side as she would watch. Legends of vast powers were about to duke it out, after all... She could not help but watch. "Mizu." "Sure." Mizu unsheathed his Zanpakutō. "Let's get it started." "Heh..." Seireitou turned to look at Raian. "I'll leave him to you then, my friend." Keeping his arms crossed, bearing his signature smile, Seireitou bent his knees a bit and launched himself to the skies, keeping to the same level Hikaru was standing at. Saori soon made her way to where Seireitou stood, as the duo watched below them, for the battle between Raian and Mizu would soon start. Raian swung his large Zanpakutō over his shoulder and faced Mizu. It had been a very long while since Raian had seen the younger Kurosaki. The reiatsu he was feeling confirmed his suspicions; not much had changed since last they met. A pillar of flames erupted around Raian and shot upwards into the sky, piercing the clouds. "Come now, Mizu." Raian beckoned. Mizu smirked, "Cool." He dashed towards Raian holding his sword in a thrust position. Raian leaped upwards at an angle, becoming airborne and dodging the thrust. His moves were cautious. Though Mizu wasn't one in name, he was every bit as strong as the Yonkō. Letting his guard down would prove fatal. Grasping his blade tightly in his right hand, Raian swept his blade in an arc, unleashing a torrent of flames on the surrounding streets and, in doing so, creating a large ring of flames around the younger Kurosaki. Mizu swung his sword around, chanting, "Jigoku II: Meuin Hinote!" A Cero-like bullet of green flame intercepted Raian's flames, cancelling both of the attacks out. Mizu smiled, "You sure I can't become a Yonkō?" "If there were 2 Kurosakis as Yonkō, there would be riots, pillaging, and mass murder," flatly answered Hikaru. "AND I actually care, Mizu." "Tsk, fine," said an annoyed Mizu. "I didn't want to join your Citizen/Soldier club anyway." Raian's eyes narrowed, analyzing the attack that canceled out his flames. He landed slightly below where Seireitou was floating, the force of his impact crushing the ground beneath his feet; his haori fluttering in the air as the shockwave traveled upwards. He glanced back at Seireitou and Saori. "You two might want to move further up. I have a feeling that I might need to turn up the heat." Raian muttered. He then turned to face Mizu once again. Holding his large blade in front of him, a glow of determination shined brightly in his eyes. "Here we go, Mizu. What you wanted. A fight at the Yonkō level." Raian declared. The Yonkō-level Fight! The next burst of flames could only properly be defined as an eruption. The force from the flames' release obliterated the ground surrounding Raian. The spiritual pressure being emitted from the young Yonkō was so hot that it actually emitted heat waves, distorting the vision of the nearby spectators. Raian plunged his right foot in the ground and launched himself with tremendous force directly at Mizu, a flaming aura enveloping him. Coating his Shikai's blade in these flames, he raised his blade above his head and swung down on Mizu's skull. Mizu blocked Raian's blade with relative ease. "No wonder you're a Yonkō, man. That sword of yours has got some nice power." Black ooze began seeping onto Mizu's Zanpakutō. "Still, I got experience like my bro!" He parried Raian's blade and aimed to slash his shoulder. Raian recoiled from the parried blow Mizu delivered him, however, the flames surrounding him seemed to move of their own will, intensifying their heat by a vast amount, to block Mizu's blade from cutting Raian's shoulder. At the same time, coming into contact with such intense heat caused Mizu's blade to glow white-hot. Taking advantage of the opening, Raian aimed a powerful flame-enhanced kick directly at Mizu's chest. "Oof-da!" Mizu sped away from Raian, still clutching his blade, landing some 5 meters away. He stood up and inspected his clothes. Ruined. "Oh that's just great. You ruined this top." He tore off his burnt clothes to reveal a spectacular physique. He cracked his neck and inspected his blade. "It's a good thing I survived training using the Second Hell of my Tenmatatsujin. All the times I got burnt, now I don't even feel it. That and I can redirect the flames into another attack." He swung his sword sending another Meuin Hintote towards Raian. Raian drooped his blade at his side whilst raising his left hand at the impending energy wave. The energy struck his hand, but Raian remained unmoved, parting the blast around his body. With a flick of wrist, Raian sent the blast flying into a nearby skyscraper, reducing the large building to rubble in a loud explosion. The explosion released a large gust of wind on the battlefield, causing Raian's haori to flutter violently. "Its as I thought." Raian thought to himself, keeping an ever close eye on the younger Kurosaki. "His blast is much like a Cero both in reishi structure and in application." Swinging his blade in a circular motion above his head, Raian unleashed a tornado-shaped torrent of flames at the building directly above Mizu, obliterating the building with ease and sending a rain of flaming rubble down on the younger Kurosaki. "Aw, hell..." The building crashed on the younger Kurosaki. In a burst of energy, unseen by Raian up until this point in the fight, the young Yonkō burst into a sprint, running directly at the rubble where the flaming building created by his attack had fallen on Mizu. As he got within a few meters of the rubble, he focused all of his energy into his legs and feet, leaping in a tremendous burst of flames, reducing the ground beneath his leap to ash. Now far above the sight of the building's collapse, able to see the entire battlefield from a bird's eye point of view, Raian summoned a storm of flames, which focused around his Zanpakutō. " !" he bellowed; his deep voice ringing out across the cityscape. An inferno that outclassed any Raian had unleashed thus far burst forth from the cleaver-like blade, dousing the entire city in the flames of Raian's power. "Are you sure we can do this?" asked Mizu to Hikaru. "If Raian's going crazy, then yep," answered Hikaru. "By the way, how did you escape that building?" "Joki. The Mizu over there is an illusion." "Slick move, bro." "Thanks, big bro." The two fist-bumped. Mizu held up his Zanpakutō and said, "Infect those who shun light, Tenmatatsujin!" The black blade with it's sinister green aura made itself evident to everyone on the field with its discharge of a green flame attack towards Raian. "Green flames?" Raian questioned mentally. The oddly-colored flames licked Raian's haori on its left sleeve. Without hesitation, Raian reached over with his right hand and tore the sleeve off, tossing it into the burning city below. New flames were birthed from Raian's Shikai, these colored black as the night itself. As he brought his blade to bear above his head, more and more black flames lit up on Raian's blade, casting an immense heatwave on the surrounding area. "Getsuga...!" he snarled, "...Tenshō!" Swinging his blade with tremendous force, Raian unleashed a crescent wave of undying black flames, traveling towards Mizu with increased speeds. The air heated to the point where it created a boom as it entered the city and aimed to collide with his opponent. Mizu glared at the huge moon-fang. "You really want to bring out my Bankai, huh?" He smirked, and slashed the blast in two. "Too bad." He endured the explosion of energy, drawing some of the flames into his own Tenmatatsujin. Though the flames did burn Mizu, it wasn't as great as some would think. With the absorbed energy, he slashed his sword sending a blade into the sky. Thunderclouds began to form. Raian glanced upwards as the storm clouds began to gather overhead. A cool wind blew over the battlefield, another sign that the weather was changing and a storm was coming. "What's this? These clouds must've formed from the heat of the ability he just sent into the sky from his Zanpakutō. This power isn't consistent with the abilities he's demonstrated thus far. There has to be a connection here that links his Shikai abilities..." Raian analyzed. Looking back down at Mizu, Raian decided to respond, "You're wrong. Your Bankai is unimportant to me. However, if you want to win..." he began, "...it might be your best bet....!" Seven tremendous pillars of flames burst from many different locations all over the city, yet all seven were in common in that they had some proximity to Mizu and Raian's battle. was being unleashed. The rising heat quickly overcame the cold front brought forth by the forming storm clouds. "I wonder what other abilities you'll bring forth..." Raian muttered. "Jigoku III: RAKURAI!" A monstrous bolt of lightning closed in on Raian. Admist the flames surrounding the battlefield, which Saori was mentally keeping from damaging any of the landscape beyond their battlefield via her Mikodō abilities, Seireitou had watched the fierce battle between comrades. His face and posture were the peak of calm and composure. But rather... that is what one might think. Deep within, the warrior heart he possessed was beating faster at the same rate the battle was getting intense. He couldn't help it, after all. His blood was boiling with anticipation. He formed a smile from watching the battle. The bolt of lighting hit home. It was far too fast for Raian to dodge, however, Raian made no real effort to dodge it. The heat from the bolt vaporized his haori, leaving only his black shihakushō intact. Nevertheless, Raian stood tall in the blast. A gash appeared on his head, leaking crimson blood down Raian's face, dripping a splotch of blood across his right eye and down his cheek. "Impressive. The consciousness of Yamamoto within me feels pretty nostalgic. It feels like 's Bankai...!" Raian grinned to himself, "You're too naive if you think that is sufficient to defeat me!" All at once, the seven pillars of flames that Raian had created moments before erupted, obliterating everything within the confines of their parameter, reducing a large portion of the city into rubble and ash, and creating an enormous crater in the ground; a mushroom cloud rising high above the city. Hikaru jumped to safety with Seireitou and Saori. "OK, who said the Zeeky words?" "Bro, no one will get that reference," said a scorched Mizu. He stood guarded underneath a stronger piece of building shrapnel. "And that was hot, Raian. Didn't your mommy tell you 'play with fire, you're going to get burned.'?" Folding his arms, Raian slowly descended to the scorched and scarred battlefield, landing in the crater containing his friends and his opponent. "If you have anything more to throw at me, please bring it." Raian countered, ignoring the jeer. Mizu pushed the debris off of him and spat at the ground, "Killjoy. So everyone wants to see what ole Mizu has been hiding, right? Gotta make this fight more enjoyable, right? Gotta show I'm more than just talk." Mizu's spiritual pressure disappeared. No one could feel it any longer. He held out Tenmatatsujin towards Raian. "Tonight, my heart is cold, The lost ones start all the fires. The fallen ones ignite hatred. The tamer descends to quash the rebellion." Hikaru looked over to Seireitou and Saori. "We should get to someplace safer than right here." A grin of pure malice adorned Mizu's face, "BANKAI!" A column of black-purple energy tore through the ground Mizu stood on, shooting straight through the sky. When the energy cleared, Mizu stood in practically his same clothes, but his sword had changed greatly. The former black and green blade was silver and purple. Mizu's sheath changed in type to match the new blade. "Maō-chū Nijūsupai." Mizu's Bankai... Raian's Bankai... "So this is your Bankai." Raian stated, admiring the activation of Mizu's second release. "What fabulous reiatsu." In one fluid motion, Raian slammed his sword deep into the ground next to him and then clapped his hands together. "I suppose it would be insulting if I didn't bring out a new trick of my own. I warn you though, I haven't had adequate time to test this in real combat. I might get a bit messy." Raian declared as his entire body became enveloped in bright golden Kidō energy. "Shundan!" The force of Raian's already sizable reiatsu increased substantially causing the ground to tremor slightly. Grabbing his sword with his Kidō-coated hand, Raian tore the blade from the ground, creating a rather large impression where it had once been. "Let's go..." Raian said. "I don't have long in this form." Mizu said nothing. He disappeared from view, reappearing behind Raian slashing downwards. Raian whirled around, catching Mizu's blade with his right arm; allowing the reiatsu which coated it to protect his body from harm. With his free hand, and using the tremendous new speed granted by Shundan, Raian curled his fingers into a fist and unloaded a powerful towards Mizu's abdomen. Seireitou turned toward Hikaru, bearing a comical grin. "You're not scared of a few fireworks, are you Hikaru-san? You don't need to worry about Saori either... She may not look it, but she is on both our levels." he noted, paying heed to the ensuing battle as Mizu went on his Bankai assault. He turned back to Hikaru and nodded. "But perhaps they might need more room... Especially if Raian goes Bankai. Lead the way, we'll follow." he remarked. Mizu flashed away, leaving a booming sound behind. "Bio-cellular Kidō, huh? Cousin Hanzei taught you well." He reappeared behind Raian. "But not well enough." He slashed downward, aiming to cut open his opponent's back. Raian stepped to the side, allowing Mizu's blade to swish right by him, the aura of Shundan evaporating off of his body. "Similar tactics. You always aim for the back, Mizu. That's your weakness." Raian noted, point his blade forward. "Nevertheless, your Bankai literally cuts spiritual pressure. What a troublesome ability. I had hoped not to use this." As he spoke, the flames that had doused the city and the crater they had been fighting in ceased to exist; vanishing before Mizu's very eyes. As this happened, Raian's Zanpakutō shrunk down to the form of a katana and his cloak become more form-fitting. At the same time, his spiritual pressure, like Mizu's upon entering Bankai, vanished. "Bankai..." Raian muttered under his breath, "Hinochidaichi no Jokai!" A dry spell hit the battlefield, stripping away every molecule of water by a seemingly invisible force. "Let us see if your powers are any match for this Bankai..." Raian beckoned, preparing for battle once again. The water is gone, but the oxygen and hydrogen levels increased. Hikaru thought to himself. I know Yama's Bankai could destroy the Soul Society over a long period of time, but... "I fought the old man long ago," stated Mizu blandly. "I still can't believe the geezer lives on in you." He looked over to Hikaru. "Stop thinking, and watch." Hikaru ceased, then smiled, "You already lost your original Bankai, brother. I doubt you'll get a third." Mizu said nothing. He just held up his sword, charging it with green-black flames. "Jigoku II: Meiun Hintote." He fired the blast, 100 times larger than before at Raian. The full intensity of the hell-flames boomed towards Raian, seeking to swallow him up and turn him to ash. "Let us begin." Raian snarled, "Hinochidaichi no Jokai, East: Kyokujutsujin!" Raian jabbed his blade directly into Mizu's energy blast, causing the blast to be completely obliterated with just the simple gesture. "That ability, Hinochidaichi no Jokai, East: Kyokujutsujin, is the offensive power of my Bankai. It doesn't burn you. It doesn't flare up as my Shikai does. It simply incinerates anything my blade edge or point touches; even if the target is also flames." Raian explained. "Impossible," said Mizu. "Power difference may exist yes. But you can't burn flames. You disassemble both molecules and reishi using super-compressed heat, releasing it when you choose to do so. My flames were extinguished, not incinerated." Mizu stood defiantly in the face of the small moon cutting king. "1,500,000 degrees Celsius didn't scare me centuries ago, and it certainly does not scare me now." "Impossible, says you? Very possible, says I." Raian cackled, "Nevertheless, there is one important difference between then and now; I am not Yamamoto. I possess his mind and his power, but they have merged with my own mind and power. Simply having come into contact with Zanka no Tachi won't allow you to defeat my Bankai. That said, you haven't moved to physically attack me yet. I assume the reason is because of that technique?" "Nah," responded Mizu. "I just wanted to gauge your power. I forgot what the sun felt like." He held his sword in the defensive, not giving an inch to the dangers of the flames Raian could wield. "And don't cackle. You're not Echo as much as I am not him either. And fusing with an old rival does not make you him. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto is the one who defeated me, not you, Raian Getsueikirite." Mizu disappeared from view again, bringing down his sword on Raian's head. Raian refused to move. Half of Mizu's Zanpakutō vanished upon coming within range of Raian's head. Then, as if on command, the flames materialized as an aura around Raian's body, dousing the area in the sun's light. "Why even attempt it? Your Bankai can cut through reiatsu. That alone is impressive. But cutting through flames burning as hot as the sun is quite a different matter entirely. While I am in Bankai, touching me with your sword, hand, or otherwise, is impossible." Raian explained, "Hinochidaichi no Jokai, West: Zanjutsu Gokui! I know you too well, Mizu Kurosaki. This fight has reached its end." "Has it?" The real Mizu stood above Raian with his sword raised above his head. "You had to see this coming." The thunderclouds from before appeared, but they were composed of reishi, not kishi. The secret behind Mizu's Rakurai attack became clear. He is the attack. "Check." The thunderbolt of compressed reishi crashed down onto Raian. However, the results of this attack differed from the first. Vanishing from sight, Raian dodged the attack as the bolt of lightning crashed into the ground, creating an explosion of titanic proportions. Raian appeared behind Mizu, the flaming aura surrounding him licking the sky and heating the air to abnormal heights. Raian then brought the blade of his Bankai down, aiming to slash Mizu across the back with his Hinochidaichi no Jokai, East: Kyokujutsujin. "You're too overconfident." Raian explained as he slashed, "My Bankai, like yours, is a compression of power. My speed is tremendously higher than before. Your lightning tricks will no longer reach me." "Maybe, but I'm only an afterimage." The Mizu that Raian slashed was merely a shadow. The thunderbolt charged straight at Raian again. "Do you take me for a child?!" Raian snapped, "I have long since forgone being tricked by mere afterimages and clones! The only way to defeat me is head on!" Raian looked over his shoulder and slashed, his Hinochidaichi no Jokai, East: Kyokujutsujin completely erasing the thunderbolt from his vision, leaving only Mizu in its wake. He then swung his blade in an arc; "Getsuga... Tenshō!" he bellowed, unleashing a cyclone of black flames on the younger Kurosaki. As if it were some otherworldly motorcycle, the thunderbolt/Mizu made a 90 degree turn to escape the blast of the Getsuga Tenshō Raian fired. He then stopped, appearing the same as before, except emitting a bluish aura. "And yet you still fell for my Joki. Sloppy work." He charged at Raian again. Hikaru sighed. "This is getting old, fast. Raian! Do something about Sparky McKilowatt, would ya?" "I see no other way. If long-range attacks don't get at him, I have to take the risk of getting in close." Raian thought. His aura of flames protecting him, Raian did the unthinkable and charged at Mizu, halting his movements completely by grabbing the Kurosaki while still in his lightning bolt form, gritting his teeth and ignoring the pain. With Mizu firmly in place, Raian slashed down one last time, aiming to end things with Hinochidaichi no Jokai, East: Kyokujutsujin. Saori brought the back of her hand to her forehead, sweating a bit as she sighed. "This dry heat is ruining my complexion." Seireitou, however, remained standing with his arms crossed, his eyes fixated on the onslaught of flames and lightning bolts. Out of the blue, his head lowered. Immediately, he lowered his hands and yelled out. "Raian, for ****'s sake, end this now before I kick Mizu and your asses myself! It's way too ****ing hot, and I'mma 'bout to lose it in this heat, so you both better end this before I come down there and beat you both so hard you'll be ****ing sideways for a month!" he called out, taking a deep breath, slowly regaining a calm composure. The sudden outburst caught Raian by surprise and stopped his attack. He looked back in Seireitou's direction, his eyes wide with comical furry. "Shaddap! That's too much pressure! I can't work under pressure! You know this you grey-haired baboon!" Raian roared comically, "Jōkaku Enjō!" The massive flames of Raian's Bankai came roaring back, surrounding himself and Mizu completely, isolating them to a small location. "This is it Mizu. No more running away. No more dodging. We end this in here." Raian declared. "I agree." Mizu's sword glowed purple. "Jigoku IV: Shūrai no Mangūsu."A white cloak enveloped Mizu. His presence disappeared from everyone's senses, including Hikaru's. He began his slash parade against Raian. Raian stood in place, allowing the flames from his Bankai's cloak to eradicate each slash as they came at him. At the same time, he angled his blade downward towards the ground. "You just don't get it. Fine then... allow me to show the true ferocity of Hinochidaichi no Jokai!" Raian roared. Endgame From the ground far below them, flames began erupting from all over, surrounding the entrapped fighters with pillars of flames. Pointing his Zanpakutō down, flames began to gather along the blade. "Here it is. You'll be finished here." Raian muttered, "Hinochidaichi no Jokai, Minami: Kaka Jūman Okushi Daisōjin!" From the flames below, ashes began to arise and take form. As the ashes collected together, bones began to form. The bones slowly turned into skeletons. Those skeletons first numbered in the dozens. Then the hundreds. And then the thousands. Until now, looking down on the city, and army of the flaming undead covered every square inch of the battlefield below. "A truly abhorrent ability, if you ask me. It is a subtle reminder that, while we Shinigami fight for protection of what is dear to us, there is cost attached to that. Below are the ashes of those killed by my blade. They have been resurrected for a time to fight for me. Don't think it will be easy beating them all. They are.... harder to get rid of than you might expect. Even Seireitou wouldn't be able to do so quickly." Raian explained. At a silent command, the flaming-undead masses began to rise into the sky, blotting out the sight of the ground below as they rose to fight Mizu in the air; Raian, coated in the flames of Hinochidaichi no Jokai, leading their army. "N...No way," Mizu's surprise was directed towards Raian parrying his attacks. "There's absolutely no way. You'd have to be precise down to the nanometer to block all those attacks. There's just no way..." Mizu gritted his teeth. His blade turned a dark red. "There's just no way you could have done that!" A column of blood-red energy consumed Mizu, then exploded outwards like a nuclear bomb. The wave slammed into Raian's army with the force of a jet. In the center of the explosion, Mizu became engulfed in the dark energy. The emotion of wrath could only be seen in his face. He took a step, then rocketed through the first wave of Raian's army on his way to attack the commander. "Not good," said Hikaru. "Mizu is using Tsumi no Jisshi-Girai." "You fool." Raian silently muttered, "A Bankai ability that focuses all of your wrath and hatred into pure speed and adrenaline. You can't stop until the object of your hatred is completely destroyed. But emotion clouds judgement and logic. You can't think straight like that. Its too bad though..." As Raian spoke, several of the Quincy that Raian had killed in times past arose from the army, unleashing large volleys of their Heilig Pfeil upon the raging Mizu. Meanwhile, Raian began to focus his Zanpakutō's power for a finishing move. "...While you're like that, you won't feel the pain from what is to come immediately. I can imagine the excruciating pain you'll feel when it wears off." Raian finished, lunging for Mizu. "Hinochidaichi no Jokai, Higashi: Kyokujutsujin!" Then he slashed down. Mizu burst into flames that consumed his entire being. That was all that could be said. Yet Hikaru remained stoic. "I can't believe it." A sword appeared from the maelstrom of flame. Mizu Kurosaki had stabbed Raian Getsueikirite. The Mizu who had died was a Joki, and the real Mizu had his right arm nearly burned to the bone. Mizu smirked. "At least grant me this attack." He collapsed, still gripping his sword. Mizu's sword slowly began to burn up and flake away as Hinochidaichi no Jokai's protective flames incinerated it. However, there was a gash in Raian's back where the blade had managed to reach before being consumed by the everlasting flames. Raian looked down on the defeated Kurosaki brother and deactivated his Bankai; the undead brought forth by his last ability dissolving into ash and his blade returning to its large, Shikai, cleaver-form. At the same time, the tremendous heat wave brought upon by Raian's Bankai ended. Slowly, Raian began walking away towards Seireitou, Saori, and Hikaru, leaving Mizu on the ground. "Good fight." he called back as he walked away, "I haven't gotten that fired up in a long time. Now, let us see what your brother and the great Seireitou Kawahiru can do." Hikaru flashed down to his defeated brother. He noticed something strange about his brother's blade. The flakes from the sword that Raian's Bankai burned flowed to Mizu's scorched arm. His Zanpakutō also crumbled into iron sand and covered up the arm as well, then began to glow green. After a couple of seconds, Mizu's arm was good as new. The younger Kurosaki coughed, and jolted up. Hikaru kept his distance the entire time, so he was not hit. "What happened?" asked Mizu frantically. He then clutched his head. "Ow...What the hell did I hit?" He smelled his breath. "Or drink?" Hikaru blinked, then burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" asked Mizu. "Is there something on my face?" He looked down to see that he was shirtless. "Did Sayuri steal my shirt again?" He then sniffed his darkened skin. "And why do I smell like Korean Barbecue?" "You are truly amazing little brother!" Hikaru could barely contain himself. Mizu blankly stared at Hikaru, then looked over to Raian. "Hey! Raian! What happened to me? I feel like I was hit by a freight train headed straight for a lava pit." Raian sighed and comically face-palmed, "Drunkards. The lot of you." he huffed, leaping onto the building Seireitou was perched on. "Sorry for the heat wave." He then tapped Seireitou's shoulder, "Tag. You're it." Ancient Rivals Meet on the Field of Battle Once More "Can someone please explain to me why I keep losing my clothes?" asked Mizu as he was being bandaged up by Hikaru. His arm healed, but the rest of his body contained first and second-degree burns all around his left arm, chest, and legs. "You just don't take good care of your stuff," answered Hikaru. He chuckled, "Maybe it's all the brain damage you get waking up in Sayuri's room when you're hung over." Mizu cracked his neck. "It's her fault that she leaves her doors open. And besides, my room is on the cold side of the house. Her room is nice and warm." Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Sure, that's your only reason. It couldn't be anything like you two share a bond or anything like that." Mizu glared at Hikaru. "Just finish bandaging me, bro." He looked to Raian. "So we fought? I hope I wasn't obnoxious." Seireitou snickered softly, walking over to where Mizu, Hikaru, and Raian all stood by. Saori stood beside Seireitou, holding a hand at Mizu, whom was instantly surrounded by a purple barrier. Slowly but surely, the blood he had lost throughout the fight began making their way back inside his body's flesh injuries, "closing the door" behind them, as Mizu was eventually healed to full working status. Saori smiled softly. "I hope you're feeling alright now, Mizu-san." She later turned to Raian, holding her other hand up, in which a purple barrier surrounded the black-haired man, taking her time in healing his injuries. "I have to say, I'm impressed Mizu. You've definately earned a right to call yourself a Yonkō's equal." Seireitou said smiling, then he turned away. "Hikaru, we can't let them have all the fun, now can we?" he remarked, making his way to the battlefield where Mizu and Raian fought, by way of a flash step. "Could you please tell Seireitou 'Thank You' when you get out there?" asked Mizu. "And..." "I know," said Hikaru. He put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Rest up, bro." As Hikaru was about to leave the forcefield, he turned to Saori and bowed. "Thank you, Saori-dono, for healing my brother.." Mizu nodded, "Yeah, thank you." Saori nodded while smiling, finishing up with Raian. "Of course, anything for friends of Kawahiru-kun." she replied. Seireitou stood on the battlefield, his arms crossed like before, but his look wasn't tense or serious. Rather humorous really. Hikaru appeared in front of Seireitou, "Mizu says thank you. I don't think you've praised him like that since the First Shinigami-Arrancar War." He cracked his back. "We don't have to worry about your Zankpakutō destroying the world, do we?" "Mizu's grown a lot. He may still be reckless, but he's becoming more aware of things around him. More intelligent. More stronger. When young ones like him mature and become stronger, they shine so brightly, us old folk can't help but evade our eyes a little." he said while maintaining his care-free facial expression, allowing his arms to drop by his side. "Perhaps I picked it this arrogant confidence from Echo... but I don't think I'll need my Zanpakutō. Not this time." he expressed.